Inspiration
by DiamondRussia
Summary: Series of drabbles and short stories on the lives of the XMen. Various themes, various ships, character exploration drama, ect.
1. C1::I Can Feel You All Around Me

I Can Feel You All Around Me

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Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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"No, no, no!!" Rogue screamed at the closed door, "Nooo! No, it can't be right! He's still alive, please, God, tell me he's alive! Jubilee, please say you're lying, please tell me this is a joke!" she screamed, turning around and facing her friend.

She didn't want this to happen.

"Jubliee!" she screamed, pounding her fists into her chest, leaving bruises for tomorrow to form and remind her how she hurt her friend for the man she cared about like a brother – the only man who had ever treated her like an actual kid, instead of pretending to think that she was.

Her adopted brother, of sorts. And now he was dead.

"I'm sorry…" Jubilee whispered, wrapping her arms around the crying girl, "I'm sorry that I'm the one who had to tell you. I'm just – sorry that I had to be the one."

Rogue looked up at her through her eyelashes, tears still dripping down her cheeks, "You're sure, then? Are you –" She didn't need confirmation again, just broke down into screams of pain and anguish and continued to sob.

"I'm sorry, Rogue. I – We, never thought that she could do this to him. We never thought that she would kill Scott."

"Shut up! Shut up! Just leave me alone!"

Jubilee left the room and closed the door, but she could still hear the other girls sobs from the other side. Logan was walking down the hallway, so she stopped him to tell him what happened.

"I think that you should talk to her, calm her down, 'cause she won't say anything to me," she finished, and gazed up at him with pleading eyes, "Please?"

"Fine," he grunted, and stomped off in the direction of her room.

_Perfect_, Jubilee thought to herself.

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Start of a series of drabbles. Bear with me, please? Review?

A


	2. C2::I Still Remember

Soma

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Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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It wasn't supposed to get or of hand.

He was just getting some fucking orange juice, for pity's sake. Bu that was what started. Pity.

He heard about her breakdown after she heard about Scott. His death. She took it pretty hard, he heard from Jubilee, and she wished that he had been there for her. He was a failure in her eyes, that's what he thought. A failure. He knew that she thought that he wasn't, but sometimes, as much as it felt wrong in his heart, it felt just right in his head.

"Hey" he's muttered opening the fridge, looking for a carton of orange juice that wasn't there. "Do you know if we have any more OJ?"

Marie shook her head. "Nope. We don't, I've already checked."

An awkward silence filled the room, and Logan stood abruptly, and coughed. "Are you okay? With the whole, uh, Scott thing?" It sounded wrong coming out of his mouth, wrong that things were bad between the two of them, and for a moment, he felt guilty. But then he remembered how she couldn't trust him anymore, and he felt a little more than guilt.

Regret.

"I'm…fine." she said, sitting on the counter as he was leaned against it, head cocked and the cigar clenched in his hand almost gone.

"Sure? You don't need anything?"

"Yep, Logan, I'm sure. I don't need anything from anyone," she looked up, eyes bright, but he knew she was still hurting on the inside. "I don't want anything."

He nodded, "Call me, if anything comes up. Just to talk, whatever."

As he left the kitchen, he swore he heard her whisper, "Especially not your pity," but he must have been hearing things.

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Challenge: pity/orange juice. Review?

A


	3. C3::Soma

I Still Remember

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Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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Jubliee walked through the halls of the school and pondered noise.

The halls were quiet, the kids were quiet, Logan was gone, so there was no brutish yells coming from the vicinity of the garage.

_It must be the weekend_, she thought to herself.

But she knew it wasn't. She knew it was Wednesday, and that Rogue was sitting in an alcove in the Library, gazing out the window that's view looked right over the school's front drive. She was just waiting, she told everyone, just waiting for the day he came home and told her something, something that she wanting to hear for a very long time.

Well, the whole school knew who she was waiting for, and what she wanted to hear.

Jubilee walked through the halls of the school and pondered noise.

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Little ficlet :D Review?

A


	4. C4::Flashy or Trashy

Flashy or Trashy

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Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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"Aye, baby," Remy said, a smirk gracing his features, his thick southern accent a bit thicker than Rogue's, and she giggled. "Yuh wan'ow git ah bit'o eats?"

"Nope, that's okay, Remy, I've just eaten."

The smirk faded to a frown, and he grabbed his chest, faking a heart attack. "Ma amie! Yuh wo'nd meh," he said as he fell over the side of the couch that Rogue was lounging on.

She laughed, throwing her head back and almost shrieking with glee.

"Wha?"

"Nothing, dahling, you just are funny. Now get going and leave, let me watch my movie in peace," she said, smiling wide and playfully pushing him off the couch and out of the door.

Sometimes the Cajun man was just a little too much for a girl who couldn't touch.

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Review?

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	5. C5::Back to the Past

Back to the Past

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Disclaimer: I own nothing

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Dying is the day worth living for.

That's what they told us, the day that we went to our doom. They said that they could protect us, and that they could teach us the way.

They were wrong. They couldn't teach me anything that I hadn't learned on the streets. They couldn't each me about what I would have to go through.

Come to think about it, they couldn't teach me anything at all.

Why it then, that everything that I ever learned is during that time of my life.

That's why when Fire met Ice, the flame was put out. And as I lie here, dying, I wonder if it was all really worth it.

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Review?

A


	6. C6::Story Time

Storytime

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Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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Takes place before "The Last Stand."

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"Logan!"

He was in the halls, walking, when he heard her screams.

He knew who it was in an instant, the only one voice that could make him come with a whisper. It was impossible for him to not know that voice, to not run when it was in pain. He would defend that voice until hell itself took him from it.

The doors slammed open as he raced down the hall, no longer trying to be quiet, to get to her.

Storm opened her door and started to say something along the lines of 'Be quiet', and 'Don't worry', but he was past her and running, running to the only girl who mattered at this time.

He told her that he would protect her, and if protecting came down to telling his leader to 'fuck off' then he would damned well say it. Not that he minded or anything.

The screaming continued as he raced down the halls, trying to get to her, trying to help before anyone else.

Then he was at her door, and in her room, and she was in his arms, crying.

"Logan."

"I'm here, Marie, darling, I'm here. Everything will fine."

"Baby, keep me safe. I'm scared. Keep me safe."

"I'll keep you safe, Marie, I promise."

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Review?

A


	7. C7::Church and Vesey

Church and Vesey

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Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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Kitty plopped down on the couch and reached for the steaming hot chocolate that was conveniently located on the coffee table to her right, and a hand smacked it.

"No," Bobby said, and with a smirk grabbed it and took a huge swig. She glared up at him, but started giggling as his face turned bright red. Obviously it was still hot, and he had burned his face off.

"Do you know what happens to people who steal things?" she asked him, her voice very soft. He shook his head and smirked as he swallowed the rest of the cocoa, cooling it with ice breaths.

"What happens to them?" he drawled as he sat on the other side of the couch.

"They get in big, big trouble!" Kitty screamed as she launched herself onto the boy reverently dubbed 'Popsicle' and started to tickle him senseless. He growled and flipped her over so he was on top of her and there were only inches between them.

He trailed his fingers down her face and her breathing became shallow and harsh. "And do you know what happens to them once they do?" Kitty gasped out, and the roomed dropped several degrees as Bobby radiated the cold that he called his mutation.

He nodded this time, and smiled as he said, "They get kissed."

And she did.

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Happy, short piece on Kitty and Bobby. Obviously after the 3rd movie, not comicverse at all. Review?

A


	8. C8::Airborne Stealth

Airborne Stealth

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Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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Scott's dreams were going to be the death of him.

He knew that she had died because he loved her, because of all the wrong reasons, but he felt that he couldn't make this choice on his own. It wasn't _his_ wife who had basically killed herself to save others, was it? Last time he checked, Jean was married to him, _not_ Logan.

The problem was that he had known that she was up to something, and whatever it was, it wasn't good. He had known that she was drifting away from him, and he hadn't stopped her. He tried, that's for certain, but as far as he knew, he wasn't successful.

So Scott made his choice, and let her fall in love with another person.

And he hated it.

He never let go.

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Review?

A


	9. C9::Empire of Faith

Empire of Faith

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Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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"Logan!" the girl blew out of the living room and into the scruffy, leather-wearing man's arms as he looked up from his bags, which he set on the floor before she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Hey, Rogue," Logan said, a smile gracing his features.

He was back. For good? Probably not – he never stayed for too long. Problem was, once he left, she started to get over him, and when he came back, it was like he never left, and she still loved him. Story of her life, repeating the past – something that she always wanted to forget.

But she had Bobby, for a time, and she forgot Logan, until he came back again. Once, she told Scott that she wished that he would never come back, and he gave her this look. Then, for a while, Logan wasn't there. And when he was, she avoided him, afraid that Scott had said something to him. Whenever he was home, she avoided him, but when he was gone, she sulked.

So was her life.

"Listen, kid, I've a lot to talk about with Chuck, but I'll see you later, okay?"

She nodded, "Yeah, sure," but knew that she probably wouldn't. He would leave in the morning, and she wouldn't see him for another few months.

But so was her life.

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Review?

A


	10. C10::Snowflakes

Snowflakes

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Before "The Last Stand."

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Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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_Two children sitting in a room, discussing the problems in one of their lives, namely a mutant called Wolverine._

"I tried to understand why he did it, once. Well, I tried, and had no understanding of why. Not even after absorbing him, not once did his subconscious let me know what was going on."

_No one knows what he thinks, not even you. Mayhaps Jean, but that's only because she's psychic, and he lets her read his thoughts._

"I tried to get over him, but it didn't work out so well."

_Becasue the whole school knew, perhaps._

"He told me, once, when I asked, that I helped him stay human. That was back when I was too young to understand what he felt about Jean, and all the women that he picked up in bars and such. I never really meant that much to him, I suppose. When I was all alone, and I needed help, he wasn't there. When I accidentally brushed up against that little girl – she didn't know better."

_Did she really care about Logan, or was it just that the older woman could already know what he was thinking enough not to worry about it?_

"It was my fault, just like always. But you won't get to tell him, because no one else knows either. So let's keep that between the two of us, shall we? I wouldn't want him to think that I had a crush on him or anything."

_The brunette paused, and looked up at the bulky Russian you went by the name of Peter._

"Right?"

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A short piece on Marie and the consequences of her gift (like she doesn't already know…), Review?

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	11. C11::Cops and Robbers

Cops and Robbers

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Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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"Hey, Wolvie!"

A small Asian girl screamed as she bolted across the lawn. The burly man looked up from the motorcycle he was staring down out, bags in hand. He groaned.

He had thought that he might've been able to get away without her attacking him again.

No such luck.

"What?" he growled at Jubilee, who was now next to him, panting, and glaring at the much bigger man. No such luck with getting away them. He should have been used to now, he never got away anymore, now that Jubilee was here at the mansion and since she took over the responsibility of Rogue's well-being. She wasn't the only one though, as numerous other mutants also stopped him before he fled the confinements of the mansion.

It was getting harder and harder to slip away…

She glared at him still, and he scrunched up his forehead in confusion. "What?" he asked again, clearly not understanding what was going on. And she was clearly not going to tell him out right.

"Do you realize what you're telling her, by leaving like this?"

Or maybe she would.

"Right after Scott died and with Jean back," she said, still looking at Logan who was still looking confused. She gave an exasperated sigh, trying to get him to understand.

"You always leave her, right," she said, stopping him from speaking with a hand. "Save the speech, just wait, and listen, okay? She's hurt, real bad, on the instide. He was like her fucking brother, and he may have just got himself killed by his wife. Think about how she feels right now, not you with your…Jean complex. Please stay, Logan. She needs you."

She paused for dramatic effect. "We need you. There's no way in hell we're going to beat him without you, man," she finished, running a hand through her short hair.

Logan nodded, "Okay," he said, and her face and shoulders visibly relaxed, like a weight had been lifted off her.

"But I can't say that I'll stay forever. Just until we're done with Magnet dude, and then maybe until she graduates. That's all."

Jubilee's face brightened, and she threw her arms around him, squeezing him tightly, squealing "Thank you, thank you, thank you!!" and then ran off.

"God," Logan muttered to himself, heading to the kitchen. "I got to get me a beer."

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A/N: By the way, for those of you who don't read the comics – Jubilee is: a mutant, who's powers gave her the ability to generate explosive energy sparkles. A teenage "mall rat," she was the X-Men's youngest member in the early 1990s, often playing sidekick to Wolverine. She eventually joined the junior team Generation X.

She isn't known to be affiliated with Rogue in particular, but in various deleted scenes of the films, she appears to be the same age, so in the films, they would have some sort of relationship. I've played that relationship up a bit, but all in all, it seems realistic.

Review?

A


	12. C12::Trick to Life

Trick to Life

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Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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_He used to feel empty. Sometimes, he still did. But he was working on it, and you could say that he was getting better._

"Hey, Rogue."

_Whenever he felt alone, he went to talk to her, or he would sit by Jean's grave, and eventually she would come out to talk. He always could depend on her, and they always had something to talk about._

"Hey Scott. What happened this time?"

_It wasn't exactly equal, though, an even when he tried, he wasn't always there for her. But she accepted that – no one had ever stuck around long enough for her to get used to that kind of support._

"Oh, nothing much. I just wanted to check in with you guys, see what was going on. You know, the usual. So… how's it going?"

_Sometimes she wished that it was the old days again, and the real Scott was back, and Jean was alive, and the two of them were happy. She wished that Scott would bicker with Logan like the old married couple that they were, and everything would be normal again._

"It's good. Storm took a mission on the Blackbird, and she flew it real well, and Hank has been working n this secret thing that the government cooked up for us. Nothing much. D'ya wanna talk to anyone else? I know that the Professor wants to talk to you, and Storm –"

_She wasn't going to tell him that Bobby and her were on the rocks, and that the 'secret thing that the government cooked up' was actually a supposed cure that she was seriously considering taking. She wasn't going to tell him that, because that's no what he wanted to hear. He wanted her to be happy. So she was._

"No, that's fine. I just wanted to check in again, see if everything was going good."

_All she wanted was for him to come home._

"You know, _we_ miss you. When are you coming back? Jean wouldn't have wanted to have you leave like you did. I know sure as hell that it pissed me off. You're supposed to be our Fearless Leader, and lead the team like normal. She wouldn't have wanted this. Never this."

_All he wanted was to come home. But home reminded him of her, and that was the last thing he wanted._

"I'll be home in a few days, okay?"

_It was a lie, he never was._

"Okay, I'll see you when I see you. We love you, Scott. Bye!"

_He never would come home._

_Never._

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Before he dies & after they announce the cure. Obviously. Review?

A


	13. C13::Predict a Riot

Predict a Riot

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Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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"Peter!"

The boy looked up form the book he was reading. Damn, he wished that he could finish this chapter once and for all, instead of getting interrupted every five seconds. Thank goodness it wasn't Jubilee, though. She would just gossip to him one-sided for about an hour, and then chastise him on not paying attention to who was dating who, and what scandal broke the news yesterday.

"Hey, Kitty," he said slowly, still giving her the reproachful look that he gave everyone who came within five feet of him when he was busy.

"So…" she started, and he put a bookmark in between the pages. "I was talking to Bobby, who talked to Jubilee who talked for me to Rogue, and we all decided that you need to get a girl. And just get out more in general, instead of just reading and doing Danger Room sessions with Logan every day."

He sighed. Every few months, the four of them, though they started out with five, but since St. John left there was only four, would get this same idea that he needed to, as they put it 'get out more.'

Little did they know that all he wanted was one girl, and she was standing in front of him.

"Is that so," he said, arching an eyebrow.

"Yeah. And were going to pick her out for you, so she won't be boring and stuff," she said, smiling huge.

"Well, how about this instead," he replied, wagering a deal. "You pick a girl, and I pick one, and then we'll – no, I'll pick the one I like more, deal?"

Kitty stuck out her hand to shake, and he grasped it firmly, changing it to the metal of his true form. She smiled, and then phased through first his hand, and then him.

"Deal," she called as she ran out the door, and he grinned.

He got her.

He got her good.

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More comicverse then movieverse, but whatever. Lots of fun… Review?

A


	14. C14::Dialysis

Dialysis

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Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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"That's not your's sweetie," Jean said, smiling at Scott, who looked up guiltily from a leather-bound book, opened to a page filled with writing. She raised an eyebrow and the book closed, without help from Scott.

"Yeah…" he muttered, rolling off the bed and grabbing her hand, and dragging her toward the kitchen, "I just don't understand why you had a dairy if you're a psychic. What, do you write down memories or something, to get your powers under control?"

She pulled her hand away and walked past him, avoiding the question.

"What?" he asked still confused with the book he had found in her drawer. It had described a power beyond her control, something that she called 'the phoenix.'

"Oh, it's nothing," she said, still shrugging off his questioning.

"It's not nothing, Jean," he said, grasping her arm and spinning her around to face him, "What's going on? What happened, Jean?"

She glared his hand on her arm, still avoiding his eyes. He opened his mind to her, allowed her to see that all he wanted to do was to _help_ her. All her wanted to do was to show her that he _cared_. And she couldn't do the same.

"I," she started, and then broke down into tears. "I'm remembering something else, there's something else that's _in_ me, but it's not _me_. I don't know what it is, Scott, but it's there, and it's fighting to get out. I can't let it, that's all I know, and it's making me do things that I've never been able to do, and see these _things_ and I hear–"

Scott looked at her, concerned. "What? What do you hear?"

She gazed up at him, her eyes full of tears. "Everything."

"You should go ton the Professor, he can help you, Jean. Is the diary–"

"No," she said suddenly. "I'm not going to him. he can't help me, Scott. I'm on my own now."

"No you're not," he said simply, "I'm with you. I'll always be with you."

Jean grinned at him, happy for once in the conversation.

"I know, darling. I'm with you, too."

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Before he dies & after they announce the cure. Obviously. Review?

A


	15. C15::One Doctrine

One Doctrine

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Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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Scott was scared.

He wasn't nervous, of uneasy, but nor was he frightened out of his fucking mind.

No, he was simply scared.

The last thing he remembered was when— oh. Oh! Jean! He had found her, she had come out of the lake, and they had kissed and—!

Oh.

That's why he was here, in this dark place that smelled of mold and stale wine mixed with rotten eggs. Disgusting. Where the hell was he?

Oh.

He was dead. Well, that sucks.

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More of this tale is coming. :D

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	16. C16::Brick Aces

Brick Aces

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Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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Two girls walked down the halls, murmuring to each other, as they passed by a small brunette and an equally large boy.

"See, Rogue, you just don't get it," Peter said in soft but urgent tones.

"What don't I get about it, Peter? He just left to go find someone who's been dead for a few good months, and he still hasn't old me when he's getting back! What am I supposed to not get? I thought that we were friends and he just up and left!" Rogue said angrily, almost spitting the words out, "It was always about her."

He was silent for a while, and Rogue bit her lip, realizing what she had just said.

"You just don't get it," the boy said again, in the same urgent tone as before. "It was always about _you._"

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See? Told you so.

A


	17. C17::Goose

Goose

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Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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Kitty shook her head and walked in the opposite direction, back to where she came from, and down the hallway that the new girl ran down. She was gonna have to get some answers, as she was one of the nosiest people in the school. Other than Jubilee, who was crazy for gossip, and could rattle out about 120, 140 words a minute, or more. Bobby walking in on her practicing once, but she forced him to promise not to say anything. He laughed it off – the idea was so ridiculous that he agreed whole heartedly before telling Kitty, who succeeded in telling the entire school via the grape vine.

Oh, the pleasures of snooping out new girls who look creepily like a certain Canadian with claws coated in metal and temper that's something like a wildcat on acid. That girls that seemed to have the a frame of mind that never let anything go – the one that makes a psychic on Red Bull look like freaking Tinkerbell. This girl had it all – the whole package. It was like taking Logan and sticking him in a young girl's body. Hilarious.

But to find her…

As she walked down the hallway, she peered into the corners and out the windows, not finding the girl, was Laura her name? Not anywhere.

"Hey, Kitty," Storm called out from the kitchen, jogging out after her before grabbing her wrist and dragging her back into the kitchen. "You have to tell me about the new girl."

"Hey, whoa there, Storm," Kitty said, laughing, "Well, if you can guess who she looks like, I'll tell you who brought her home."

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Fun stuff, right??

A


	18. C18::Accept the Dawn

Accept the Dawn

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Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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I wish that I could accept that the School wanted me.

As I face the light coming from the east, I remembered what the school meant to me.

Once, it was my salvation, the place that delivered me from the gloom and hatred of my family, then, a mild irritation, and an increase in rules. Finally, it gave me an outlet to abandon its cause and join with another, better one.

One that let me play with fire.

One that let me be free.

But yet, I missed people. Rogue, as much as she hated my arrogance and insults, tried to call me once. She said that she didn't want to, but she felt like she needed to. Said she missed me.

I didn't pick up, and deleted the message after only listening to it once.

As my boss calls me, I turn from the light, walking back into the darkness of the cave.

_Welcome to the Brotherhood._

_Here you can make a difference._

_Pyro._

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Somewhere in between the second and third film.

Pyro being sentimental about leaving the X-Men.

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	19. C19::Universal Beacon

Universal Beacon

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Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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No way to get out.

No way.

No turn, no passageway, no hidden entrance.

He was going to die.

He couldn't save her, he couldn't save all of these people.

Why couldn't he do it, what manner prevented him from saving them?

Was he just not Good enough?

What was it?

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He wasn't drunk but he had to piss and he didn't want to go outside.

As he stumbled outside, moving towards the harsh wind of the Canadian North, he almost fell over.

He grabbed the bottle that was starting to tip over on the stairs leading outside, and managed to stabilize himself. Kind of.

Whatever, he never could get too drunk, thanks a lot healing factor.

Never get drunk, never forget, never regret. That was his life. He hated it. He had too much time, too much of everything. He wanted it to just all go away, to escape. That's why he left the School, again, and why he felt so guilty.

He wished that he could escape forever.

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Somewhere, not exactly sure when. A Logan piece on guilt & everlasting life.

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	20. C20::Exchange of Change

Exchange of Change

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

"No, don't give me this crap again." She spat angrily, "I'm sick and tired of trying when I know it's going nowhere."

"You know you don't mean that." He said, taking her in his arms and bringing her close to him. She stayed in his arms for a moment before she viciously ripped herself away.

"No." She said, breathing heavily, "I told you, I'm not trying anymore."

"Give me a chance." He begged, forcing her to look into his bright green eyes. She held his gaze, unable to look away from his eyes, the eyes she had fallen in love with.

"This always happens." She said, "Every time it's the same."

"Don't say that." He whispered hoarsely, "This time will be different, I promise."

"How can I trust you?" She said, "You said that last time and here we are again."

"I know I've messed up before." He said softly, "I can't lose you, and you know that. You know I wouldn't be the same without you."

"Then why do you always hurt me?" She said, her bottom lip quivering.

"I-"

"Do I want to hear this answer?" She said, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

"She didn't mean anything to me, it was stupid." He said, raising a hand to her cheek to wipe away the tear. Before he had even touched her, she slapped his hand away.

"It will never be the same." She said, "There's nothing I can do but picture you and her together… It completely rips me apart, why can't you understand?"

He wanted to take her into his arms and hold her until she forgave him, he wanted to stroke her beautiful hair and kiss her soft lips, but instead he could only stand a few feet away and look at her with nothing but remorse.

"I'm sorry." He said, "I'm so sorry."

"How am I supposed to believe you?" She cried, more tears escaping from her eyes.



"You have to trust me," He said, his features hardening, "I would never do anything to hurt you."

"Then why did you sleep with her?" She cried, "Why would you do that? _How_ could you do that?"

"I don't know." He said, bringing his hands to his head, "I wasn't thinking."

"Did you expect me not to find out?" She said, "I mean, for Christ's sake, you could have told me yourself. Instead I had to find out from-"

"I didn't want to lose you." He said, reaching for her small hand, her small hand that fit so perfectly in his. She whipped it away from his grasp and looked at him with the hurt still present in her eyes.

"Please don't go." He implored.

"If you don't want me to go, then maybe you shouldn't have hurt me." She said, gathering her things and shooting him one last pained look.

Then she was gone.

A


	21. C21::Zebra Stripes

Zebra Stripes

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

The world is grey. 

No smiles or laughter grace his face. Instead, sorrow is reflected in his solemn eyes. Time wasted is failure in his mind and it weighs heavily on his consciousness. Thoughts of what could have been, but is not, are considered and wished for. The weight of being far behind also weighs heavily on his mind, pressing the weight of what feels like the world onto his shoulders. Eyes scan a page but do not read it. Pen writes an answer but the mind does not process it. A heavy heart and mind compel him to simply lay his head on the desk and think, eyes gazing off into the distance.

My heart hurts to see him like this. For me, the world has also lost its brilliant colors. I have no smiles or laughter for the world who so cruelly stole my beloveds. With thoughts racing through my mind, I also contemplate; not what could have been, but what could be.

The teacher tells us to get into groups. It's _always_ me and him, maybe others. But not today. Today he gets up and talks to her. She nods. He smiles. They sit together, joined by a past love of mine. They are all smiles and laughter. I can only watch.

My heart breaks. How has she restored the joy that I could not? How has she so easily brought the color back to his life? Why her? Why not me…? I lower my head to the desk and sigh, watching the people around me. 

The world is grey, fading slowly, but still grey.

Kitty and Bobby as viewed by Rogue in class, before happiness, and the cure.

A


	22. C22::The Pink Tangerine

The Pink Tangerine

--

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

--

There was a quiet hum when the car stopped in from of the gate, rusty with age and bad weather, and a man stepped out.

_Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters_, it should read. The sign to the left, where the words should be, was covered with a thick layer of moss and ivy. The burly man pulled the growth over the sign away, and wiped the slate clean. There it was.

Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.

How he wished that he didn't come back ever. How he wished that he would forget, forgive himself, and get over her. But no, he had to be able to live forever. He had to be eternal.

He got back into the pick-up truck after opening the gate, which nearly crumbled into rusty dust at his touch, and drove up the winding road to the school.

He pulled over next to the double doors on the main drive, and remembered when the parents and students would gather there on days when they came home or days when they left for vacations. They would flock here, exchanging 'hellos' and 'goodbyes,' 'I love you' and 'I'll miss you.'

All this he thought about as he walked through the empty halls of the school. He remembered when he first came here, with Marie. He remembered attempting to teach the children in the Danger Room, remembered coming back, time after time.

Then there was the mistake.

It was a trap—nothing like it was supposed to be. There was too many of them, too little X-Men, and all of them were too tired from the mission earlier that day.

At last, he reached his destination.

He knelt in front of her grave, next to all the others, in all the rows and columns.

"Why did you have to die?" he muttered as he gazed at her name carved in the stone.

She came back, one time, to visit him. It was the day that the school was ambushed, and she was overwhelmed.

She couldn't control it.

"Rogue? Marie, love?"



--

A Rogue and Wolverine piece, as usual.

Slightly (more than that, really) AU, but a random thing that I did in class instead of the assigned math homework.

A


	23. C23::August

August

--

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

--

It was warm. Summer was always warm in New York. Not hot, like it was in the South, in the town she grew up in was. Before she discovered her powers—before she was different.

Not that she didn't like the summer in New York, it was lovely, but it wasn't the hot, stifling heat that she grew up in. Hot all year round. The smell of suntan lotion, hot dogs, the sight of skin, shorts and swimsuits everywhere. Now it was cold in the winter, rainy in the fall and spring, and warm in the summer. The heat was one of the things she missed. That and her mama. Her good sweet mama, the one who smiled and made her chocolate chip cookies every day after school when she in grade school, who loved her with every bone in her body until Marie became Rogue and there was no more smiles and cookies.

Everything had gone to shit these last few months. Jean was dead. They'd seen her die, to protect them, to make sure that they would survive. Everything had changed after that. She'd dumped Bobby, run away to New York City and had gotten hunted down by Logan in a matter of days. When they came back to the mansion things had changed.

Bobby was different, Scott was different, Storm was different, Charles was different. Everything had changed. Bobby didn't look at her when she would walk by him in the halls, Scott was silent all the time, and Storm would just be quiet and talk to Charles in a hushed voices. It seemed like there was no end to the amount of changes that had been going on at the mansion since Jean had died.

Jean was like the glue that stuck everything together.

And when the glue was gone, everything just fell apart.

--

I kinda really love Rogue. She's my favorite. Anyone seen True Blood with Anna Paquin in it? Isn't it amazing? Well, if you haven't seen it, you should totally watch it.

AK


	24. C24::Throwing Those Benjamins

Throwing Those Benjamin's

--

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

--

He wasn't sure if it was because it was a beautiful day, or because she was physically stunning. Scott sighed. He really needed to stop doing this. It was definitely a habit that he needed to break, but he just couldn't stop going back to her.

"Hey, Scott," Jean said softly. "Long time no see."

He stood for a while, not speaking for a while as his wife—the one who was supposed to be dead—walked toward him.

"You okay, babe?" she asked, her brow wrinkled in concern as she tried to work out why her husband wasn't talking to her. She took another step toward him and reached her hand toward his face, the tips of her fingers just grazing his face. "Scott? What's wrong? You look like you just saw a ghost."

"Freeze simulation, now," another voice spoke from the shadows, and Logan walked into the light. "You got to stop doing this to yourself, Scotty-boy," he said gently, coming behind the taller man and patting him on the back. "She's not going to come back."

Scott turned to face him, and Logan could see how crushed he was, the pain clearly showing on his face. "I know, Logan" he muttered, and his face suddenly turned blank, like someone had sucked all the emotion out of him and had left him only hr feeling of being rejected.

He looked back at his wife, her hand outstretched toward him, her face one of concern. He loved her so much…

Scott let out a breath that he hadn't realized that he'd been holding, and with one last look, he walked out of the room, leaving Logan alone.

The shorter man shook his head. He was happy that he couldn't remember when is wife had died, because creating a simulation of your dead wife instead of seeking clinical help seemed rather… unhealthy. "Danger Room off," he grunted, staring with a heavy brow as Jean her surroundings disappeared.

Only a circular steel room remained.

--

A


	25. C25::Dear Mister Bob

Dear Mister Bob

--

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

--

Gloves. Elbow-length, silk gloves. Long gloves, worn by a girl who cannot touch. She was untouchable, so obviously every boy wanted to touch her. Every man, every boy, every uncle, father, brother and son wanted to touch her, and the only one who could was a million miles away in the wilderness of Canada. He ran away from her, instead of dying, falling into a coma or passing out like the others did. He ran, and she chased him like there was no tomorrow.

She didn't really know him, but she was in love with him anyway. This strong, hairy, beast of a man. He had claws, and she'd felt them inside of her, both figuratively and literally as she had almost died by his hands once before. _He_ had killed _her_, not the other way around, and it was him who brought her back. He healed. That was his talent, his mutation. He could heal faster than any normal living thing, and he had healed her faster than she could blink.

And faster than she could blink, her heart belonged to him.

Forever, she would feel him inside her head, and forever he would rest inside her heart.

She found him staying in a cheap motel in Canada. It was his motorbike parked outside that gave it away, and she trudged through the steadily growing layer of snow to the front desk and the receptionist who was watching a hockey game on the television in the corner.

Getting into his room was easier than expected. She simply told the older woman at the front desk that she was his daughter and that she told him to meet him in his room. The lady smiled and happily handed over the key, mention something about how lovely it was that she had such a good relationship with her father.

She had forgotten how much she loved the smell of him, slightly snoring as he stank of beer and dried blood, the odor of cigars hanging in the room as thick as the smog around southern California.

She was sitting on his bed when he woke up. He barely reacted to her being there, surprised only that he had not woken up when she'd come into the room.

"It's time to go home, Logan," she said softly.

"How long has it been this time?" he asked gruffly as he rolled to the other side of the bed, his back now facing her, and pulled on his boots and overcoat on over the thin shirt he was wearing.

"Three months, thirteen days," she said quietly.

He merely grunted, put on his gloves and stood up, offering her his hand. She looked up and stared at the man standing in front of her with his hand outstretched.

"Isn't it time for you to stop running?"

He kneeled in front of her, placing his gloved hands on her upper arms. She stared into his eyes, trying to see anger, praying to see hate. All she saw was love, and she didn't trust herself to believe it. Love. She tried to ignore it, but it just kept appearing in front of her. He took her hand in his and pulled her up with him.

"Let's go home, Marie."

--

I really like this piece. I spent longer than usual on it (meaning I that I was watching the third PotC film at the same time…) but I still really like it.


	26. C26::Freud and Mike the Horseheaded Man

Freud and Mike the Horse-headed Man

--

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

--

There was too much noise.

Everywhere, there were too many children laughing, screaming, and talking. The volume was just too much. He liked silence, peace, solitude. Being alone would provide that, but there was no where that he could go to be by himself without incessant sound. The school was on an unofficial lockdown, as there had been several severe threats the last few weeks, and everyone at the mansion was a bit frazzled. All the emergency exits had mysteriously disappeared and the Professor had created a psychic link on all the walls that surrounded the school, like an invisible dog fence, only for humans. Parents weren't allowed o pick up their kids either, although most of them wouldn't even if they were able to, and all of the phones were being monitored.

No way to get out. And no way to get back in if the need arose. Or if he ever wanted to eat again.

Everyone was stuck, but no one seemed to be bothered by it except for him.

He wanted to burn the whole place to the ground and fly away.

Hell, even just going for a little soar or two would be nice, his only company the wind, but all of the students who were able to fly now had restricted times, and even those were with Storm. Angel sighed. Sometimes, not being able to fly felt like a cage.

--

I likeee Angel.

A


	27. C27::Sam's Town

Sam's Town

--

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

--

Before, Logan had always had a purpose, simple as it was:

Live.

That was all it boiled down to, and between the nights filled with fear and the mornings laced with guilt, it was the only thing that mattered. To survive. Evade whatever and whoever was looking for him. Forever running, forever fighting.

He'd concentrated on it every moment, always suspicious, always watching. Brooding, assessing, looking for danger in every face, every motion.

For all his efforts, he'd failed. When he'd spoke those short simple words – 'I'm sorry' – all those weeks ago, it'd been an apology. Because he got lazy, let himself believe that nothing was going to happen.

If it hadn't been for that, if he'd done something different – but that was a useless thought, and he pushed it away immediately.

Before, he'd needed to hide, now, he needed revenge. To find out whoever had started all of this. To finally get answers.

And that was the greatest reason to live that he could think of.

Besides her, of course.

Other than finding answers, his only mission in life was to keep Marie alive, to keep her safe.

To love her.

--

A


	28. C28::Secret Runner

Secret Runner

--

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

--

Marie was alone again.

She hadn't been for a very long time, and she didn't like the memories that it brought back one bit. She was young again, and he was the same as always. He never changed, not in the forty-seven years that she's known him. In the time it took to get to know him, her hair was all white, she still couldn't touch, and he still loved her.

After all of these years, you would think that one person could stay the same, but he did.

He still held her the same, he still touched her the same, and whenever he would come back from wherever he would go, he would still dreamed the same nightmare.

You would think that he would get bored with this life, and try to move onto the next one.

Why did he stay, she asked herself. Why would he always come back?

He never answered her in real life, nor in dreams that a fiery devil could send from the far reaches of hell.

He would just run.

--

Tiny bit melodramatic. A Marie and Logan piece, as usual.

A


	29. C29::Challange

Challenge

--

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

--

"I want to forget."

…

"I tried to, I really did."

…

"I really want to."

…

"That's all I want, God. "

…

"Dear God, please make me forget him. Oh God, I don't want to remember anymore. I don't want to. I don't want to remember. I want to forget. I tried."

…

"I tried so hard."

…

"I don't know what my problem is."

…

"That's why I don't date and I…"

…

"I don't want to get hurt."

…

"I don't like to get hurt."

…

"I hate the pain. I hate it! It tries to break me, and it does!"

…

"God, why don't you listen to me? I want to be saved, just like everyone else. Why can't you save me? Convert me, save me, oh, God, why do you not listen to me? I'll do anything! Make me forget him! Make me find someone else, anyone else, anyone who cares enough to make me forget. Anyone who wants to make me feel right again. Anyone."

…

"Oh, God, I try so hard to ignore you, to cast you out, but there is something in me that tells me that you're there. I know it, deep down, I know that you're there, listening to me, watching me, and I know I've been a bad person, and I know that I do bad stuff, but I try to be good, right? Have you seen me be good? I try, sometimes."

…

"I try to be good."

…

"Oh, God, forgive me, for I have sinned, but you're supposed to love me, and you do, right?"

…

"You're supposed to love everyone, not just the Christians who repent and are crazy about you. You're supposed to love even the nonbeliever, because you know that they might convert, right? I love you, I try to at least, even if I don't understand why you make things happen the ways that they do, I try to accept that. "

…

"But this is unfair, oh, God, you're supposed to love me, but God, couldn't do me this one favor?"

…

"Could you make me stop loving him? You're supposed to make me happy! You're supposed to love me!"

…

"Because the pain that it gives me hurts more than all the pain I have ever felt put together."

…

"Oh, God, forgive me."

…

"Can you even hear me?"

--

I'm not really sure who's talking to God in this piece. I mean, I know it is a girl, but I still can't figure out whose voice it is. Anyway, God obviously doesn't care, as he's not answering.

A


	30. C30::Leaving

Leaving

--

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

--

_She heard them say that she was the last one left. _

_Of all of the people that she had seen those three days on the field, she was the only one that was standing on that grassy hill, still waiting for him, after all these years._

"She was the only one who ever said anything to us, the only one who ever willingly spoke, but it wasn't as if she actually said anything that we could understand."

"She would merely nod when asked a question, or called on to verify a fact, and then continue sleeping, the tears still leaking out of her eyes."

_She would merely stare, and wonder why she was the only one left._

"It was an illusion, this state that she lived in," the man said, standing in front of the glass that separated her world from reality. "She dreams that the war was real, and that you died. She thinks that everyone died."

He turned to the man standing next to him, his hands pressed against the glass, his face a mask of anger. "She thinks that I'm dead?" he said slowly, turning to face the doctor and smiling.

The doctor took a small step back and smiled uncertainly back at the shorter man, speaking again. "Yes, well, she does show signs that she believes that her reality is the real one. It truly is difficult to say what she really thinks, you see, because she is consumed with the other personalities inside of her." He turned back to look at the girl who was strapped to the reclining doctor's chair in the center of the room. She was twitching irregularly, and every so often, she would mutter something, flick her head, and let out a tear. It was a sorry sight, and Logan was not happy about it.

"How long has she been like this?" the smile completely gone from his face.

_Too long to remember how he smelled. Too long to remember what made him smile, made him laugh. Too long to remember why she loved him, just consumed with the thought of him, consumed with her love of him. She couldn't remember… anything. _

The doctor shifted uncomfortably, and started to wring his hands behind his back, hoping that his confronter wouldn't notice, and simply leave. Logan noticed.

"It's hard to say, she's been here so long. You see, along with not letting anyone in to the room, she, well, more so her body's defenses, have stopped her aging process. She was here before I came to work at this facility—"

Logan grunted, "Prison…"

The doctor glanced at the girl in the room, hoping that she could somehow hear his cry for help, as the man who came to take her away was clearly not going to be gentle about what he thought of one of the most celebrated medical facilities in the country. "She could be in her thirties, or she could easily be over a hundred years old. I don't have clearance to know anymore than she answers questions that need to be answered."

"Big fucking help you are, then, now get her out of there," the shorter man said, and three metal claws suddenly came through his hand, "Or I might have to slice you in fourths."

"_Don't worry darling, I'm coming."_

--

Totally AU, but I like it anyway. If you didn't get it, the girl was Rogue, she'd obviously absorbed enough people to drive her to the brink of insanity, and she had ended up in a place that she couldn't get out of herself. Thus… Logan comes.

A


	31. C31::Drink This Taste

Drink This Taste

--

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

--

There was no pain.

There was supposed to be pain. She was _supposed_ to be dead. The dam, with all the water rushing behind it, was supposed to have killed her.

Where the heck was she?

Light, pure light.

That's all she could see.

White… Bright… Light.

No darkness.

No black.

Only a bright light, blue in color, but she saw all the blue through red?

A fire around her, she was wrapped in flame.

Blue rushing over her.

Was she underwater still?

She tried to open her eyes, but nothing happened.

She tried to scream, but no sound came out.

What—where was she?

And why couldn't she get out?

She was supposed to be dead.

--

A little diddle on Jean when she was supposedly dead, wrapped in a cocoon of energy at the bottom of the lake. Mostly randomness inspired by standardized testing.

A


End file.
